Tour du Grand Combin (3 Tage)
Description
The starting point for the Tour du Grand Combin is Orsières. From here, you climb the seemingly endless ascent up to the Col de Mille. First on asphalt, then on gravel and the last section on a well-maintained single trail. A refreshment stop at the cabane is recommended so that you can enjoy the subsequent world-class descent to Lourtier. This leads high above the valley floor of the Val de Bagnes through flowing and fun alpine terrain. After Le Tongne, it gets really steep and technically challenging - a fun ride for mountain bikers with good riding skills. Less experienced riders should keep left further up and ride down to Champsec. Lourtier is the first stage of the Tour du Grand Combin.
On the second day, take the post bus to Mauvoisin, from where you can use your own muscle power. Climb up to the dam wall, then follow the little road along the lake in the direction of the Cabane de Chanrion, but then keep right up to Fenêtre Durand. Here, the bike has to be pushed about 550 meters up to the crossing into the Aosta Valley. This is the first mountain prize for most people, but it gets even better: with the ascent to the summit of Mont Avril (3346 meters above sea level). This means carrying your bike 550 meters up through high alpine terrain. You will be rewarded with an extraordinary summit experience directly opposite the Grand Combin - and a phenomenal trail descent for those who like it steep. From Fenêtre Durand follows the technical descent down to Alp Thoules. Now the whole thing gets faster and smoother, and there is also a short climb until you reach the Ru de By. Follow this watercourse until the first-class trail descent to Étroubles begins. This is where the second stage ends.
Day three is coming up! From Étroubles, the long ascent to Col Malatra is on the agenda. This leads along small roads to the ski lift station at Arp du Jeu, which is better completed with a shuttle from Aosta Valley Freeride. After the alp, you head up a gravel road to Tsa de Merdeux. Now it's time for the 650-metre hike to Col Malatra, the final section of which is high alpine in character and leads through rocky terrain to the crossing. The reward is a fantastic descent down into Val Ferret with a direct view of the Grandes Jorasses and Mont Blanc. Continue with the trail on the Balcon de Ferret and the subsequent ascent up to the Grand Col Ferret. From the Rifugio Elena, the bike has to be pushed a good 500 meters up to the pass. This is the starting point of the long final descent to Orsières. This leads down to La Fouly on trails and then on a mix of trails and small roads through the Val Ferret to Orsières.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
123 km
5460 m
6960 m
3 days
Sembrancher
Orsières
2916
not suitable
More information
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User comments (6)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
Tour from July 24-26.
Champsec would have been more fun to ride from the Col du Mille. Directly to Lourtier was technically impossible. Bus to Mauvoisin needs to be reserved by phone (no rule without exception;-)
We didn't hump the bikes all the way to the summit of Mont Avril. The loose, steep gravel seemed unrideable on the ascent. What we had was nevertheless...steep. The DH to Etrobles is long and epic, especially along the water and finally the final DH! Almost an insider tip.
Col de Malatra still had two small patches of snow. More snow would be a no-go.
From Rifugio Bonatti there were lots of hikers. Unfortunately, the Petit Col Ferret DH was still completely covered in snow. We had to return to the Grand Col Ferret. The last day really got to me. It was an impressive bike experience.
Hello
Is it not possible to "save" the routes/trails you like in your account?
The map above shows the tour via the Grand Col Ferret and this is definitely where most of the TdMB hikers go down. Therefore, as mentioned above, it is more worthwhile to cross under the Tete de Ferret to the northwest towards Petit Col Ferret and then descend into Val Ferret at Chantonnet.
Have fun and best regards
Dear Mr. Giger
I really have to compliment you on this tour. What a great tour. An absolute highlight in terms of biking and scenery.
We rode the tour in 3 days, which is exhausting, twice about 11 hours in the saddle. Mont Avril is an absolute must! If you stay overnight in Lourtier in La Vallée, you get the bus ticket for free. From Etrouble to Arp de Joux we found a cab from Gressonney, which drove us up for 50 euros (with e-bus!). super nice driver. The only catch: he picked us up at 6.30am.... We had espresso and brioche at the gas station before the St. Bernhard Tunnel. There are no refreshment stops on the 2nd stage.
Very nice tour!
We rode the tour in 4 days.
Keep left on the descent from Col de Mille just before the small lake at 2070m and then to Champsec is highly recommended.
Unfortunately, the shuttle from Etroubles to Arpe du Jeu cannot be planned, as AostaValleyFreeride does not accept reservations and the shuttle is only available spontaneously. Also very expensive, 160€ for 4 people.
The last descent is better from Petit Col Ferret or Chantonnet through Val Ferret on the Swiss side, where there are significantly fewer hikers from the TourDuMontBlanc.
Hi Dirk
The current GPX file rides via Petit Col Ferret to Gite. Do you mean this variant or do you prefer the Gran Col Ferret? I assume that the TdMB hikers tend to go via the Petit Col Ferret? Or am I wrong? Greetings Mäsi